World's first holographic flexible smartphone unveiled

On 5 May 2016, a group of researchers at the Human Media Lab at Queen’s University announced that they have developed the world’s first holographic flexible smartphone named HoloFlex. The device is capable of rendering 3D images with motion parallax and stereoscopy to multiple simultaneous users without head tracking or glasses.

Highlights:

•          The device features a 1920×1080 full high-definition Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode touchscreen display.
•          Images are rendered into 12-pixel wide circular blocks rendering the full view of the 3D object from a particular viewpoint.
•          It produces 160×104 resolution image that allow users to inspect a 3D object by rotating the phone.
•          It is equipped with a bend sensor, which allows the user to bend the phone as a means of moving objects along the z-axis of the display.
•          It is powered by a 1.5 Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and 2GB of memory.

4D tech offers hope for treating lung ailments

                Scientists have developed a four dimensional lung scanning technology that has the potential to transform treatment for people with lung disease. Developed at Monash University in Australia by Professor Andreas Fouras, the technology has been commercialized by his company 4Dx. Dr Rajeev Samarage , joint lead author from Monash’s Laboratory, said, “With this technology, not only will clinicians have a clearer image of what is happening in the patient’s lungs, but it is our aim to detect changes in lung function much earlier than in the past,” said Samarage. Fouras said the 4Dx pre-clinical scanner generates high-resolution images of lung-tissue motion and airflow throughout the lungs, which allows doctors to view and measure abnormal function in specific areas of the lung, before a disease progresses.

Nasa to launch a probe to study "Armageddon' asteroid

                NASA is planning to launch a probe to collect rock samples from an asteroid it fears could one day hit Earth. The asteroid, named Bennu, can be seen from Earth as it crosses the planet’s orbit every six years. Bennu, which is 500m in diameter at its equator and travels around the sun at 63,000mph, will pass between Earth and the moon in 2135. “That 2135 fly-by is going to tweak Bennu’s orbit, potentially putting it on course for the Earth later that century,” Dante Lauretta, professor of planetary science at Arizona University. “It may be destined to cause immense suffering and death,” he added. Mr. Lauretta, Nasa’s principal investigator in charge of the Osiris-Rex probe mission to Bennu, launching in September, said the probe will map the asteroid, pick up some rock samples and then head back to Earth. He said information on the asteroid’s size, mass and composition could be “vital data for future generations”. Osiris-Rex will arrive at Bennu in 2018 and will spend a year surveying the asteroid’s chemical makeup, mineralogy and geologic history. Information gathered during the observation will help scientists understand how its course is affected by absorbing and radiating sunlight as heat. The probe will then take a sample from the asteroid before heading back to Earth for 2023.

Lightest e-paraglider developed, weighs 49kg

                Scientists, including one of Indian origin, have successfully designed and built the world’s lightest electric paraglider trike, that can take off and land with wheels while carrying an adult pilot. The aircraft dubbed The Delta, has two rear-mounted propellers, horizontally arranged, each driven by a motor and is powered by lithium polymer batteries. It is the lightest aircraft that can take off and land with wheels while carrying an adult pilot and may provide a safe, clean and simple way to realize our dreams of flying.

                The Delta was built for the National Geographic Channel. “We had to find the lightest airfoil possible, a wing, blade or sail crucial for a flight, which we found in a conventional cloth paraglider,” said Rangaranjan Jegadeesan, of Design-Centric Programme at the National University of Singapore. “We had to find the lightest motor to provide enough thrust for The Delta to be airborne; and we had to build it so that it is light enough to fly yet sturdy enough to be safe,” said Jegadeesan.

                The Delta weighs 49kg, and is capable of carrying one person up to 75kg. It can fly up to a speed of 36km per hour under normal wind conditions, and has a typical flight time of 10 minutes on fully-charged batteries.

Scientists simulate N-explosion of Asteroid

                In a step that may help protect the Earth from potentially dangerous celestial bodies, scientists have simulated the nuclear explosion of an asteroid in a such a way that its irradiated fragments do not fall on our planet. With the help of supercomputer SKIF Cyberia, the nuclear explosion of an asteroid 200 meter in diameter was simulated. “The way we propose to eliminate the threat from space is reasonable to use in case of the impossibility of the soft disposal of an object from a collision in orbit and for the elimination of an object that is constantly returning to Earth,” said Tatiana Galushina, from Tomsk State University (TSU) in Russia.

                “Previously, it was proposed to aboligh the asteroid on its approach to our planet, but this could lead to catastrophic consequences – a fall to Earth of the majority of the highly radioactive fragments,” said Galushina. Scientists have offered another solution to the problem. It is known that the majority of dangerous objects pass close to Earth several times before the collision. Therefore, there is a possibility to blow up the asteroid at the time when it is farther from the planet. This measure will be much more effective and safer.

                For computer modeling, a celestial body was taken as a potential target, similar to the asteroid Apophis, which in 2029 will approach Earth at a distance of 38,000 kilometers. Calculations have shown that for the destruction of the object there must be the impact of a nuclear device with energy of one megaton of TNT equivalent. In this case, part of the asteroid turns into gas and liquid droplets, and some will break into pieces no larger than 10 meters. This is the maximum in terms of safety for the Earth.

 “Because the rocket catches behind the asteroid, almost all the pieces after the destruction will fly forward,” said Galushina. “In this case the orbit of the fragments will be significantly different from the asteroid’s orbit. For 10 years after the explosion an insignificant number of fragments will fall to Earth,” Galushina said. “Their radioactivity during this time will be reduced considerably.” Galushina added, “Nuclear explosion in the space are prohibited by international treaty, but in the case of a real threat to humanity maybe there will be an exception.”

3D food printing in the offing

                Scientists are developing a three dimensional (3D) food printer that can fabricate edible items through computer-guided software and the actual cooking of edible pastes, gels, powders, and liquid ingredients all in a prototype that looks like an elegant coffee machine. Food printers are not meant to replace conventional cooking.

They will not solve all of our nutritional needs, nor cook everything we should eat but they will produce an infinite variety of customized fresh, nutritional foods on demand, transforming digital recipes and basic ingredients supplied in frozen cartridges into healthy dishes that can supplement our daily intake.

                This is the missing link that will bring the benefits of personalized data-driven health to our kitchen tables – it is the ‘killer app’ of 3D printing. The printer is fitted out with a robotic arm that holds eight slots for frozen food cartridges. Researchers are now working on incorporating an infrared heating element into the arm.

                3D printing is a universal technology that has the potential to revolutionize lives by enabling us to design and manufacture things with unprecedented freedom. If we can leverage this technology to allow artificial intelligence tools to design and create new things for us, we can achieve immeasurable potential. The 3D printer will be able to cook various ingredients at different temperatures and different durations.

Tricking the human body to beat cancer

                German researchers have presents a Trojan gorse method of attacking cancer, sneaking virus impersonators into the human body to unleash an anti-tumour immune offensive. Tested in only three people so far, the treatment claims to be the latest advance in immunotherapy, which aims to rouse the body’s own immune army against disease. Made in a lab, this Trojan horse is composed of nanoparticles containing cancer RNA – a form of genetic coding – enclosed by a fatty acid membrane.

                The particles are injected into patients to simulate a virus invasion, and infiltrate specialized immune cells. These so-called dendritic cells decode the RNA embedded in the nanoparticles – triggering, in turn, the production of cancer antigens. The antigens then activate cancer-fighting T cells, and thus prime the body for an all-out, anti-tumour assault.

                Following experiments in mice, three people with advanced skin cancer were given low doses of the treatment. All developed a “strong” immune response, the team reported in the journal ‘Nature’. If further trials find the therapy works, they added, the method could help pave the way to the highly-sought “universal” treatment for all cancer types.